[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 25

The show had set up a massive cliffhanger with the last episode, and the payoff… it’s a pivot they go for, and while I can see why they did it, I really wish they hadn’t done it.

Our heroes opened a weird door in the ruins of Shibuya, looking for answers about Hiyori’s past, and what’s inside is… basically nothing helpful for Hiyori, but way more questions for Tendou and Kagami. It becomes a story that’s less about providing information to help with healing, and more about getting across to the superheroes that they are pawns in a massive conspiracy.

It’s a pivot away from a story with clear emotional stakes, into something that’s a lot more Superhero Plotting, and, yeah, didn’t love it! The story more or less abandons Hiyori. She’s gotten nothing helpful from all of this frustration, and Tendou has changed up his attitude towards her from condescendingly withholding to sympathetically withholding, which is not a great look. When the most relatable character on the show (YMMV) outright tells the hero that her troubles are because he’s being so withholding, and the hero just, likes, commiserates with her? What even is that! It’s like they went into that basement as three people who cared about each other, and came out as two superheroes trying to solve a mystery about their origins. It treats Hiyori’s story as, like, a booster rocket, something that can be discarded now that the real story is taking place.

The secrets buried in the Shibuya ruins might not be immediately helpful for solving Hiyori's backstory but that just means she wasn't looking back far enough. The Meteor of 99 is the event that she remembers for leading to the death of her parents and the start of her loneliness but since ZECT has been around a lot longer than the Worms who arrived on that meteor, she needs to keep digging in to the history of 35 years ago to get her answers.

Tendo seems to care about Hiyori and Jyuka the most, so considering how he acts slightly more emotional than usual when Hiyori insists on going to Area X, it's possible that he knew she would be disappointed by her search for truth and only tagged along with them so he could console her. He clearly knows more about her past than he's willing for her to find out and he actually cares what another human being thinks about him, a rarity for sure. Even though I don't really think he's directly responsible for her parents' deaths. He's still a good guy after all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

That alone would be enough to set up a more direct conflict with ZECT’s leadership, but the show drops a weird-ass bombshell by putting Kagami’s identity as Gatack’s operator in the Masked Rider #1 journal from 1971. (And, yes, I got the reference, no need to call it out. I laughed at it immediately.) It’s something that could be easily (“easily”) explained away by having Kagami’s dad create a prophecy he could eventually have his son fulfill, but that’s still pretty crazy. Almost as crazy as the raging, chained-up lunatic that’s locked behind a door in the basement of a vault. That’s someone who is going to be a problem!

Kagami Arata being mentioned in the journal is definitely mysterious since he's not that old. But it means that ZECT were already preparing for the Worms' invasion way before the Meteor of 99. And then there's that guy locked up, you have an interesting prediction for that. I can't say too much here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

A QUESTION

And now I gotta live with being mad at this show for a couple days, because I’m changing up the scheduling for New Year’s. The 31st is going to be a special piece, something I’m already 20% done with. The 1st is going to be Episode 26, the 2nd is going to be the movie, and with the 3rd we’re back to normal scheduling with Episode 27.

But none of that’s a question! With New Year’s nearly here, it’s time to make some resolutions. Do you have a tokusatsu resolution for 2021? Something toku-related you’d like to accomplish? My next few years are pretty well charted out, Rider-wise, but there’s something I’ve got in mind for Decade that I really hope I’m able to make happen. What about you?

Just for fun, I'm going rewatch God Speed Love since its AU setting means it can be watched casually without needing to follow the show.

My resolution is to watch Blade and finally finish the Heisei Rider Era before you reach the Day of Oma.

Maybe I'll start Turboranger as well if the subs ever get completed.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

And our new worm, Rena, is played by Hitomi Miwa, who was previously the big good of Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger.

Hey, you're right, that's Kagura! I never recognized her actress in Kabuto before even though Kagura was one of my favorite characters in Hurricanger.